This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, X.-S.
Right arrow Articles by Wood, T. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, X.-S.
Right arrow Articles by Wood, T. K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, April 2007, p. 3051-3062, Vol. 189, No. 8
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01832-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

YcfR (BhsA) Influences Escherichia coli Biofilm Formation through Stress Response and Surface Hydrophobicity{triangledown}

Xue-Song Zhang,1,{dagger} Rodolfo García-Contreras,1,{dagger} and Thomas K. Wood1,2,3*

Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering,1 Department of Biology,2 Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas 77843-31223

Received 6 December 2006/ Accepted 31 January 2007

DNA microarrays revealed that expression of ycfR, which encodes a putative outer membrane protein, is significantly induced in Escherichia coli biofilms and is also induced by several stress conditions. We show that deletion of ycfR increased biofilm formation fivefold in the presence of glucose; the glucose effect was corroborated by showing binding of the cyclic AMP receptor protein to the ycfR promoter. It appears that YcfR is a multiple stress resistance protein, since deleting ycfR also rendered the cell more sensitive to acid, heat treatment, hydrogen peroxide, and cadmium. Increased biofilm formation through YcfR due to stress appears to be the result of decreasing indole synthesis, since a mutation in the tnaA gene encoding tryptophanase prevented enhanced biofilm formation upon stress and adding indole prevented enhanced biofilm formation upon stress. Deleting ycfR also affected outer membrane proteins and converted the cell from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, as well as increased cell aggregation fourfold. YcfR seems to be involved in the regulation of E. coli K-12 biofilm formation by decreasing cell aggregation and cell surface adhesion, by influencing the concentration of signal molecules, and by interfering with stress responses. Based on our findings, we propose that this locus be named bhsA, for influencing biofilm through hydrophobicity and stress response.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 220 Jack E. Brown Building, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122. Phone: (979) 862-1588. Fax: (979) 865-6446. E-mail: Thomas.Wood{at}chemail.tamu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 9 February 2007.

{dagger} X.-S.Z. and R.G.-C. contributed equally.

Journal of Bacteriology, April 2007, p. 3051-3062, Vol. 189, No. 8
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01832-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Wang, S., Deng, K., Zaremba, S., Deng, X., Lin, C., Wang, Q., Tortorello, M. L., Zhang, W. (2009). Transcriptomic Response of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to Oxidative Stress. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 6110-6123 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bergholz, T. M., Vanaja, S. K., Whittam, T. S. (2009). Gene Expression Induced in Escherichia coli O157:H7 upon Exposure to Model Apple Juice. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 3542-3553 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lee, J., Maeda, T., Hong, S. H., Wood, T. K. (2009). Reconfiguring the Quorum-Sensing Regulator SdiA of Escherichia coli To Control Biofilm Formation via Indole and N-Acylhomoserine Lactones. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 1703-1716 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nobre, L. S., Al-Shahrour, F., Dopazo, J., Saraiva, L. M. (2009). Exploring the antimicrobial action of a carbon monoxide-releasing compound through whole-genome transcription profiling of Escherichia coli. Microbiology 155: 813-824 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kim, Y., Wang, X., Ma, Q., Zhang, X.-S., Wood, T. K. (2009). Toxin-Antitoxin Systems in Escherichia coli Influence Biofilm Formation through YjgK (TabA) and Fimbriae. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1258-1267 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yang, X., Ma, Q., Wood, T. K. (2008). The R1 Conjugative Plasmid Increases Escherichia coli Biofilm Formation through an Envelope Stress Response. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 2690-2699 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lee, J., Bansal, T., Jayaraman, A., Bentley, W. E., Wood, T. K. (2007). Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Biofilms Are Inhibited by 7-Hydroxyindole and Stimulated by Isatin. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4100-4109 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»